Butter
Name Variations * unsalted butter * sweet cream butter * sweet butter About Butter Wikipedia Article About Butter on Wikipedia Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. In many parts of the world, butter is an everyday food. Butter is used as a spread, as a condiment and in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying. Butter consists of butterfat surrounding minuscule droplets consisting mostly of water and milk proteins. The most common form of butter is made from cows' milk, but butter can also be made from the milk of other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, and yaks. Salt, flavorings, or preservatives are sometimes added to butter. Rendering butter produces clarified butter or ghee, which is almost entirely butterfat. A firm solid when refrigerated, butter softens to a spreadable consistency at room temperature and melts to a thin liquid consistency at 32–35°C (90–95°F). The color of butter is generally a pale yellow but can vary from deep yellow to nearly white. The color of the butter depends on the animal's feed and is sometimes manipulated with food colorings, most commonly annatto or carotene. Unsalted butter Sweet butter is commonly used to describe unsalted butter. In regular recipes, you may use salted butter if you like salt, but in baking, many people prefer to use unsalted or sweet butter when they call for it. Salt acts as a preservative, so butter without salt will be more perishable. Usage Butter fills several roles in baking, where it is used in a similar manner as other solid fats like lard, suet, or shortening, but has a flavor that may better complement sweet baked goods. Many cookie doughs and some cake batters are leavened, at least in part, by creaming butter and sugar together, which introduces air bubbles into the butter. The tiny bubbles locked within the butter expand in the heat of baking and aerate the cookie or cake. Some cookies like shortbread may have no other source of moisture but the water in the butter. Pastries like pie dough incorporate pieces of solid fat into the dough, which become flat layers of fat when the dough is rolled out. During baking, the fat melts away the flaky texture. Butter, because of its flavor, is a common choice for the fat in such a dough, but it can be more difficult to work with than shortening because of its low melting point. Pastry makers often chill all their ingredients and utensils while working with a butter dough. Butter vs. Margarine It was only recently that doctors and scientists realized how harmful trans fat is to the body. In fact, today, trans fat is known as the artery-clogging fat formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening. Trans fat has many more ill effects. It is known to increase blood levels of LDL or bad cholesterol. Not only that, it also lowers levels of HDL or good cholesterol. Studies have found trans fat to cause heart disease, Type II diabetes and other more severe health problems. Trans fat is also the culprit as to clogged arteries. Margarine was created as a cheaper substitute for butter. If you’re still not convinced, here are the 8 reasons why you should throw out the margarine, and revert back to butter! Raw, Organic Butter is the best. The best butter you can eat is raw, organic butter because pasteurization destroys nutrients. Unfortunately, the sale of raw butter is prohibited in most of our 50 states. Are you finding it difficult to get organic, raw butter? Don't worry! Making your own delicious cultured butter with Body Ecology Culture Starter is an easy way to get on the right track towards health. You can, however, make your own healthy butter, and it is easier than you think. Look into our Body Ecology Culture Starter, which you simply add to organic cream. After letting this mixture sit at room temperature for 24 hours, chill it, beat it with a whisk, and voila! You'll have healthy, probiotic butter that is delicious! Cultured butter is full of health sustaining good bacteria like lactobacillus planterum, and lactococcus lactis. These microflorae are essential for a healthy inner ecosystem. Category:Dairy products Category:Fats Category:Spreads